Responsibility - Part 3

Posted on Fri May 19th, 2023 @ 7:16pm by Ellie Evans & Jamie Bullock

884 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: The Invasion
Location: The Evans Estate - England
Timeline: After The Invasion

“I knew you’d be out here somewhere.” Maria took a seat on the antique wooden bench on the corner of the orchard, looking across the open fields at the setting sun far in the distance. Ellie, her cheeks still pink from tears, just stared out at the vista.

“Did he ever care?” she whispered. “About me? About what I wanted?”

“You know the answer to that,” Maria sighed, swinging her legs at the overgrown grass at their feet. “He hasn’t been well recently. Mum tries to pretend that everything is normal, but…I guess he’s not been the same since you decided to leave.”

“So you’re saying it’s my own fault?”

“I’m saying that maybe you were the only one keeping them from going mad in the first place,” Maria replied, nudging her shoulder. “So what are you going to do?”

“You heard him. He won’t let me leave.” Ellie stared at the setting sun in the distance. All his talk of responsibility, and he knew nothing about the responsibility that she had inherited. Being a Power Ranger. Saving the world. Was there a bigger responsibility?

“So you’re just going to let him force you to stay here?”

“You’re here.” Ellie glanced at her sister. “What hold does he have over you? Threatened to cut you off as well?”

Maria flinched. “I don’t think he cares about me enough to even do that.”

Ellie put her arm around her little sister’s shoulder, pulling her tightly for a moment.

“How come we never noticed he was such a…” The word didn’t come, but Maria understood.

“I don’t know. Makes you wonder if they ever figured it out themselves,” the younger Evans shrugged. “So…I guess you’re sticking around then.”

“I…” Ellie opened her mouth, not really sure what to say. A rustling nearby caught her attention before she could finish the thought. Footsteps. Lots of footsteps.

“What’s that?” Maria asked, standing up. “What are those?”

Ellie recognised them straight away. Like something out of a nightmare, invading a place that was supposed to be a safe haven; her home. Kaldore Drones. She pulled Maria behind her as a dozen-or so of the black-suited and helmeted individuals swarmed around the pair.

“Ellie…what’s happening?”

“Just stay behind me!” Ellie urged, looking around for a way to escape that had been cut off. Her chest was pounding, knowing that not only was she now in danger but her sister was too. She heard Maria yelp as one of the Kaldore drones grabbed her and dragged her away.

“Maria!” She called, kicking out at the nearest drone and knocking it back. “Ow…” she winced, not having considered that these things might be tougher than she’d noticed before. Unmorphed, and entirely unprepared, she was at a complete loss of what to do.

“Ellie!” Maria called out. As the moment seemed desperate, a thundering of boots on the ground reached their ears, a black blur barrelling into a pair of drones and sending them flying. Maria yelped again, before realising that Jamie had joined the fray, kicking and fighting back against the drones.

“You okay?” he asked, looking between the two girls.

“Look out!” Maria protested as a drone grabbed him from behind. Dropping down and flipping it over, Jamie flashed a concerned look around them as he tried his best to keep the drones away from Maria.

Ellie’s hands were shaking as fear gripped her. They were outnumbered and outmatched. Jamie might be able to hold his own a little but she was no fighter. Not like Damien, Kilena and the others. Am I really cut out for this? she asked herself.

”Your responsibility is to your family.” Her father’s words rang out in her head. Responsibility. Family. She looked at Jamie, who more than anyone else knew what it meant to fight for his family. And then at the defenceless Maria. If she couldn’t protect herself, then who would? Someone needed to take responsibility for that.

“Jamie!” She called, scrambling to her feet. “I think we need to even the odds.”

“You sure?” he asked.

For the first time all day, a confident expression hardened onto Ellie’s face as she nodded back and flashed the morpher into existence on her wrist.

“It’s Morphin Time! Green Ranger Power!”

Time stood still for a moment as Ellie felt the power rush through her. Where before the power had given her the confidence to fight back, this time it felt like the power was enhancing the confidence that was already there.

Joining a now also morphed Jamie, the pair of them faced down the drones, with Maria watching in astonishment at the turn of events.

“Solar Saber!” Ellie summoned the blade to her hand and cut back two of the closest drones with ease. The fight was over in mere seconds, with the two powered-up Rangers sending the few remaining drones packing.

Satisfied that the battle was won, Ellie and Jamie powered back down, giving one another a quick high five.

“Th-that…was…” Maria stammered from behind them.

“Uhm…yeah.” Ellie sheepishly answered. “So, I think I might have forgotten to mention a few things…”

 

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